Physical self-concept and gender : the role of frame of reference and social comparison among adolescent females
type: CreativeWork
description: Quality physical education can positively influence students’ emotional development, specifically their perceptions of competence, self-esteem, and self-concept. Unfortunately, girls often become less engaged and involved in physical education as they grow older and consistently report lower physical self-concepts than males. Physical self-concept is associated with multiple positive outcomes, yet there is only speculation addressing why females report lower physical self-concepts than males in physical education. The overall purpose of this dissertation was to investigate potential explanations for gender discrepancies in physical self-concept among physical education students. One qualitative and one quantitative research study was conducted to address this issue. The purposes of the qualitative study were to capture female students’ personal interpretations of physical self-concept, frame of reference, and the physical education environment. Results indicate that the girls enrolled in same-sex physical education classes perceived the coed environment negatively and experienced pressure regarding physical ability and appearance. Competition in physical education received significant attention and was desirable only in appropriate levels and contexts. Results supported that the students used multiple sources of information in physical self-concept development. Participants conformed to traditional gender norms and viewed males as more aggressive and physically dominant than females. In addition, all participants perceived same-sex physical education as a more desirable setting. The purposes of the quantitative study were to investigate a BFLPE and moderating effects of class type among female students in physical education. It was hypothesized that: a) individual ability would positively predict sport self-concept and class-level ability; b) class-level ability would negatively predict sport self-concept (also known as a BFLPE); and c) class structure (e.g. same se…
abstract: Quality physical education can positively influence students’ emotional development, specifically their perceptions of competence, self-esteem, and self-concept. Unfortunately, girls often become less engaged and involved in physical education as they grow older and consistently report lower physical self-concepts than males. Physical self-concept is associated with multiple positive outcomes, yet there is only speculation addressing why females report lower physical self-concepts than males in physical education. The overall purpose of this dissertation was to investigate potential explanations for gender discrepancies in physical self-concept among physical education students. One qualitative and one quantitative research study was conducted to address this issue. The purposes of the qualitative study were to capture female students’ personal interpretations of physical self-concept, frame of reference, and the physical education environment. Results indicate that the girls enrolled in same-sex physical education classes perceived the coed environment negatively and experienced pressure regarding physical ability and appearance. Competition in physical education received significant attention and was desirable only in appropriate levels and contexts. Results supported that the students used multiple sources of information in physical self-concept development. Participants conformed to traditional gender norms and viewed males as more aggressive and physically dominant than females. In addition, all participants perceived same-sex physical education as a more desirable setting. The purposes of the quantitative study were to investigate a BFLPE and moderating effects of class type among female students in physical education. It was hypothesized that: a) individual ability would positively predict sport self-concept and class-level ability; b) class-level ability would negatively predict sport self-concept (also known as a BFLPE); and c) class structure (e.g. same se…
author: Beasley, Emily Kristin
keywords: adolescent females, self-concept development, Frame of Reference, Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect, physical education, physical self-concept
date published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:59:22Z
provider: Lousiana State University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Kinesiology

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.1389